Water Quality & Stormwater

Volunteers like Donnan Barnes collect regular water quality data all along the Ipswich River.

Overall, water quality is the good news story of the Ipswich River and its watershed. The river was spared some of the virulent pollution problems that have plagued other rivers, due to lack of industrialization and fairly low density development in many areas, at least until the mid-20th Century. The use of the river for water supply also led to pollution prevention measures. Nevertheless, there are some serious pollution problems in the watershed that threaten public health and affect environmental quality. Primary among these are hazardous waste problems in a number of communities and low dissolved oxygen, which affects fish and wildlife and causes pollutants to be released into the river.

Another major problem is stormwater. When it rains, stormwater runoff flows across roofs, lawns, roads, and parking lots, picking up pollutants like oils and greases from cars, lawn fertilizers, and pet waste. This polluted runoff then flows into storm drains and into streams and the Ipswich River. Polluted stormwater runoff is the most significant water quality problem facing the Ipswich River, and contributes to shellfish bed closures in the estuary.

Remember all drains lead to the Ipswich River! That means whatever you flush down your sink or your toilet ends up in the river — water treatment plants only remove some kinds of pollution. Those storm drains you see along the road and area parking lots, those drain to the river, too. The rain carries whatever you spray on your plants or leave on the ground through those drains and into the nearest creek!

The following are some of the negative results from stormwater runoff as it runs off impervious surfaces:

Eutrophication of our streams and ponds

Sedimentation of fish spawning areas

Reduced water in our streams after the rains (because less water goes into the groundwater)